To ask you what specifics you’re cutting back on

[Bunnyfuller]

The only trickle down I can see from Tory economic policy is lots of people’s incomes dropping. As this recession really grips, the small number benefiting from the tax cuts at the top won’t be enough or spend enough to keep many businesses profitable.

what things have you cut back to help you manage your household finances?

caveat: I 100% realise that there are many people who are already cut back to the bone, and have no further cuts they can make. I think there will be a growing number in this situation as prices continue to rise, and people only spend if they have to.

so us -

we used to go to Waitrose/M and S for occasional treats or stickered items. No more, price increases mean even stickered items are too expensive.

Main shop at Lidl. Stopped going to Sainsbury or Tesco as the quality isn’t much better and it’s too expensive.

Go to Asda for branded items because the fucking cat some want only the original

Haircuts - will get them done 4 months/6 months and I’m not having the colours done any more

Window cleaner - stopped

Restaurants - only on 2 for 1 vouchers, once every 2 months if that. We drink tap water

Takeaways - we make 1 Chinese last at least 2 meals, one takeaway a month from a Saturday night every week.

DIY - we had planned to recarpet upstairs and get wood flooring downstairs. Won’t be happening.

Were going to get garden fences painted (large garden so lots of fences) - not happening

Ditto the door on a cupboard upstairs, the bi-fold doors in the living room and the wall move/2 bathroom revamps

No new clothes, Charity shops/Vinted/eBay etc

No new furniture, as above if needed (recently bought a heated surer to avoid using the drier).

We’re a family of 4, I’m not sure what that takes out of the economy annually. I am conscious of the knock-on effect to hairdressers, Tradies etc. This in turn will force them to spend less…..

We've had to choose between The National Trust and English Heritage.

English Heritage got the cut. It was a difficult choice to make but came down to beach carparks (NT carparks here can be up to £7 a day!!)

Hope the trickle down works in Cornwall, we've just lost our jobs!

And there aren't many jobs to have as we're so far away from everything!

Laughing at your DCat not letting you change your cat food. I’ll have to eat beans cold from the tin before my DCats consent to eat a new brand of cat food 😂

(Yes, we’re cutting down elsewhere too!)

@Ticksallboxes thats absolutely what I meant, really sorry to hear it is already starting to bite. This is precisely where the ‘trickle down economics’ fail miserably. There’s never going to be enough super rich requiring a carpenter, not enough to keep all the carpenters in work, earning. They just don’t get this.

Nothing. DH and I have both secured decent payrises over summer and we have significant savings so should be able to make it through without too many adjustments

Nails.
Unplugging electrical items when they're not in use.
Not using the heating oil until I really have to keep the household warm.
Using air-fryer and banning silly spending.

Lol, mine would be told they are painting the fence. No way would I consider paying anyone to do it if I had teenagers at home

Central heating is off until absolutely necessary
Relying on a wood burner for as long as possible
Cutting back on hot water to only what we actually need
Buying cleaning materials/loo roll in the £ shop
Buying meat from the butcher
Downgraded the coffee I buy
Better planning of car use

Dp is a tradie.
He's booked up into next year.
All high value work.
In fact he's just decided to turn his work phone off for a month.
We've decided to cut back on using the Central heating and use the wood burner more often.

Hope it continues @RedAppleGirl

We’ve invested to save money.

Firstly fixed the shower, so it’s now showers rather than baths (although we seem to be going through shower gel at a faster rate).

Also brought an air fryer.. Not sure how long it’s going to take to pay it off in savings though.

So in both cases, spent out, but hopefully will save on a day to day basis.

Although have just bought a puppy…

@Bunnyfuller we've got some savings but this isn't just a bump in the road. We've had a chat with our teenage DCs about the modest Christmas coming up and they were surprisingly fine about it.

Last Christmas we went all out on their presents for a number of reasons, but I think we were all left feeling that it sort of took away from the true spirit of Christmas in a way, so having our hand forced this year had actually been a bit of a relief.

So far we haven't done much. But then it's been nowhere near cold enough for the heating anyway.
I have stopped using the tumble drier and been hanging washing out as soon as there is a sniff of a wind and sunshine. Got a massive indoor clothes hanger and been hanging the undies on there.
We just got a new boiler installed as the old
One was 15 years old so hoping the new one will be more efficient. We could probably do with a new fridge/freezer for same reason.
We'll be cutting right back on luxuries like nights out, meals out, new clothes etc and I'm really looking at cutting back on any unnecessary spending.

The vet thing is worrying. We have a fucking cat and a dog, and I’m petrified of illness. Earlier this year idiot Ddog ate a peach stone and ended up with emergency surgery and all the accompanying fun. Insurance paid all but 500 from a £4500 bill. When it costs at least £100 just to see a vet, how many are just going to avoid taking their pets? How have we come to this,seriously?

I’m not cutting back, I’m not on a massive wage but I can still afford my lifestyle. It doesn’t do any harm to reassess your outgoings to trim any unwanted fat but I’m not going to do false economies or make life a misery by only having a “lukewarm shower a couple of times a week”. Some of these false economies will cost more in the long run - if you don’t best your house properly, you will get damp. Buying an expensive air fryer? I’d just put the money towards running the oven and use it more efficiently. Cutting back on the occasional affordable treat? Fuck that, there’s no prize for competitive misery.

I’m baffled why anyone would post such an ‘I’m alright, Jack’ comment

Because that’s their experience and they’re answering the question.

Or did you only want to read hyperbolic statements about the donning of sackcloth and ashes?

No, but if you can’t empathise that most people have to cut back, it’s perhaps best to say nothing at all.

Cutting back for us has been

Not using the tumble dryer
Own brand food shopping
Walking more and not relying on taxis or a bus (we don't own a car)
Cutting back on takeaways. Maybe once every couple of months
Using the air fryer more than the oven
Not putting the heating on unless absolutely necessary. I'll be put thick socks on, my Oodie and blanket first before considering it!
Showering a bit less. So every other day, unless I've been particularly sweaty that day, I've found it unnecessary
Switching to sim only now my phone contract has run out. Halved my monthly bill and in no rush to upgrade. The phone I have now is perfectly fine
If really needing a replacement on clothes, shoes etc. I'll research second hand first like Vinted for example. Or my local secondhand shop for bigger items
Not going on nights out/eating out in general. Though I've rarely done that in the past few years anyway
Cut my own hair (bought salon scissors)

Its a forum. The OP asked a question. You can’t demand that people don’t answer the question if it doesn’t fit your preferred narrative.

I’m not demanding anything - wind your neck in

I’m just pointing out that saying ‘we’ve had pay rises and will be absolutely fine’ isn’t really in the spirit of the OPs question.

Some people won't have a choice though. You are lucky that you can still afford your lifestyle, sadly lots of people won't be able to. If you can cope with your fuel bill more than doubling without making any sacrifices to your disposable income then you are actually pretty comfortable and probably not in the same boat as many other families. To call it competitive misery is extremely ignorant.

I’m not demanding anything - wind your neck in

ODFOD. The competitive misery is tiresome. Not everyone needs to or wants to engage in competitive misery. Get over it.

If you get off on telling people that you’re just fine then you might want to reflect on things

If you can cope with your fuel bill more than doubling

It won’t double. Even though I have the equivalent of a medium size house, bill-wise (I have expensive heaters) my bill will only go up a few hundred pounds over the WHOLE YEAR once the £400 grant is taken into consideration due to the price cap. It will probably be the same for many people but we seem to be locked into this “Everything is going to be a DISASTER” mindset, which is not healthy.

No, some people won’t have a choice to cut back but many do. It’s distasteful in those instances, it’s poverty cosplaying.